Ballast Issue

[Bch53211]

I have the wakemakers larger rear ballast bags on my 2019 helix. Normally I piggyback the original fat sac bag on top of the larger port side bag (just manually fill it w a tsunami pump, not yet plumbed in/attached). I only fill it like a quarter full maybe an extra 100-200 lbs. It never seems to be an issue when the lower bag is full because it can’t be compressed and cause a problem at the connection at the bottom. Unfortunately, tonight the autowake was accidentally turned on and the system all but emptied the lower bag and the empty/fill connection port must’ve gotten squashed by the extra bag on top and became detached. The problem is it now looks like perhaps it also broke a seal (if there is a seal there)? Or maybe on the other side of the back wall where the pump is the pump became detached? When the boat still had ballast and was weighted down, it looked like water was coming back in through that hole but not through the fill hose itself where it connects to the bag. When we emptied ballast it didn’t look like water was getting in anymore, but I suspect there may be a seal there that might be loose now or broken? Or perhaps the hose is now detached from the pump? Hopefully this gibberish makes sense, can anyone shed light on this please? The pump still runs, just want to have an idea of what I may have done, hopefully not too expensive to get fixed.

[MJHSupra]

Something could have been pinched. I recall reading where the fittings can go bad b/c there is no wiggle room for the hoses when they fill. If that model has the faux back wall on the transom, I would take that off and start there. It should only be held in by ss screws.

Per the stacking of the bags, have you considered upgrading the bags to appx 1200#s (I think the ballast bag companies they make 1150# or 1180# bags)?
One bag vs Two - then adjust the fill times?

[Bch53211]

The bags I have are the wakemakers 1150s , just seems to improve a bit by adding a little more on the port side for left side surf (original bags were 600). Thanks for your response.

[HFarr]

This is what it it looks like behind the port side on my Makai. Yours is probably close to the same.

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[Bch53211]

Thanks so much for this - it looks like yours has 2 connections at the bottom, are those two visible when the wall is replaced? Do both those attach to your bag or is it just the one above those two that’s visible that attaches to your bag? It looks like the single one above may be the overflow?

[Bch53211]

Oh wait now I see the last pic, yours has all three connections coming through, mine has just one.

[Holdmybeer]

Your Helix is probably the 3 pump system compared to HFarr G6 (6 pump) system.

You should have 3 ball valves under the floor to the thru hull fittings that feed water to the pumps.
The pumps have a single output that fills the bag at the bottom. It is also the same line that drains the bag by spinning the pump in reverse.

I would suspect the water line is either cracked or came off the pump. Removing the walls in the back will expose everything. Should be 2 on the port side (1 rear, 1 center) and 1 oump on the starboard side.

Instead of stacking bags I would use lead.

[Bch53211]

Thanks so much that all makes sense . I’ll buy a few more lead bags for next season .

[HFarr]

Holdmybeer is correct. I have the G6, which has 2 pumps per bag. All three in the picture do connect to the bag. The higher one in the center is for the bag fill sensor/overflow. There is not a lot of room for play to allow the connections to slide around. So if the connected bag lost it's water weight and was pushed and pulled around by the full bag you put on top of it, I could see where one of your connections probably did pull loose. If it cracked the connector, instead of pulling loose a clamp, you can order replacements. Hopefully, you don't have a major problem.

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[MJHSupra]

The bags I have are the wakemakers 1150s , just seems to improve a bit by adding a little more on the port side for left side surf (original bags were 600). Thanks for your response.

That sounds good. As others have said, I would add a 200-300#s of lead to move around. I keep around 800-1000 on my SL, but keep 200-300#s of that total to move around depending on how many peeps are on the boat and where people are sitting.

Once you get those panels off, you will find the issue. Good luck.